A tasting stroll down the Trader Joe's beer aisle

Have you ever scratched your head in the Trader Joe's beer aisle and wondered, "What are all those weird beers I never see anywhere else? Could they be any good?"

I have. So I tried them. All of them. Or as many as I could find. The notoriously secretive company declined to provide a list of their brews, nor was it helpful about the origin of those beers. However, in the beer community, anything under the "Josephsbrau Brewing Co." label is believed to be made by Gordon Biersch brewing, in San Jose, Calif. Mission St. beers are believed to be made by Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, Calif.

After getting my hands on as many TJ's beers as I could, I assembled a crack team of tasters to sip and judge. Our thoughts are below in the approximate order we enjoyed the beers. Most are grouped in the middle because Trader Joe's beer rarely delivers more than the basic minimum, which makes sense for beers costing $2.99 to $6.99 per six-pack. At their best, Trader Joe's beers are an inexpensive way to get a solid craft beer in your hand. At their worst, well, ewww.

No matter your taste, happy cheap drinking.

The good

Stockyard Oatmeal Stout: Crisp backbone melds with smoke and chocolate in this winner